Month: July 2016

Time for an honest confession: I don’t think the intros for these posts will get any longer or more exciting any tme soon. By the time I’m finished compiling them it’s usually a liiiitttle later already – or early; depending on your definition – and sleepiness sets in. If I wanted to pull off a white lie I could obviously say I simply want the posts featured to shine their light here. Wait .. .that’s actually not a lie. Well, I guess we’ll fuse these two answers and I’ll stop rambling and just let you read on for now. Talk to you tomorrow and as always:

Wearing many hats herself, Kristy knows what she’s talking about. Great advice to fit everything you want into your days.

This post by Jen/@isntshelovelycreative (formerly the ‘J’ in PB & Jenny)

“(…) I’d rather do what I love in an authentic way that’s true to who I am than dish out generic advice that I probably could have copied and pasted.” <- true for any post we write – entrepreneur or ‘regular’ blogger

Has it really been two weeks already since we talked about life and everything? Time. flies. by. The reasons why I didn’t post a Week in Review this past Monday … for one I wasn’t feeling it. Also, I felt vain talking about myself after all the terror the world has seen lately. Does it ever end?? My heart felt and still feels heavy for the many lives lost, people hurt. I had and have no words for this but knew talking about my life felt off. I have so much to feel more grateful for and yet I was in a funk for a few days.

As odd as it probably sounds to jump back in with a post about my life Yet another blogger reminded me to go on with life and what better way to also get chatting with you than a Week in Review? Thanks to Meg for encouraging all of us to see the good things in life week after week.

[Not including much of the my week from July 11th to 17th as this post is getting too long already]

Here’s some of what happened in my life lately: I …

Spontaneously visited my sister on Monday. It was a good way to kick off the week and included another visit to the restaurant mentioned a while back. Fries with vegan cumin aioli? Not complaining.

Visited my sister and nephew once again on Thursday. Because: why not?! Honestly, these days have been my saving grace lately. Which is somehow funny when you take into consideration the fact I [thought] I like my routine and don’t fancy completely overhauling it. Now, though? I can’t wait for my next little venture out. Especially when it includes time with my nephew who has now mastered crawling. And he’s fast.

Finally tried ice cream at a popular all-vegan ice cream parlour. My mum and I took over babysitting duties so my sister could work on her thesis and leisurely took up the long walk to Liberty. While I was hoping for more interesting flavours than were available that day we enjoyed scoops of melon lemonade, double chocolate and coconut peanut butter. My mum – vegan-skeptical when it comes to dessert – couldn’t tell the difference.

Forced myself to read several chapters of three books. Forced not because I didn’t like reading books in general but these were bad aren’t recommendable in my obviously very subjective opinion for different reasons [though the one on top here aside they really are bad …]. I’m a smidgen frustrated. Luckily, one of them aside I didn’t buy any of those but was handed down one by my sister [an unwanted gift; understandably so] and another is one borrowed from a colleague. Who highly recommended it so I feel pressured to finish it regardless … Yes? No?

Semi-important question, though: I consider ordering “Me before you” today. Did you read it? Thoughts? I have high hopes for it lviing up to its praises and can’t take another disappointment. Exaggerating here but still.

Went back into the office for an hour to take care of important faxes that apparently didn’t get through after all on Friday. I actually appreciated the feeling of getting work done on a day off.

Proofread an important document for the business of my sister’s husband on Monday night after returning home.

Proofread another part of my sister’s thesis on Tuesday. Completely in my element and happy to get a pile of work. I might be that odd person who’s actually stoked to work here and there during her holidays. Don’t ask about the current stateof my apartment, though ;). Priorities.

Ran errands for my sister while at her place.

Took care of my mum’s vegetable garden {this is a current one, actually – help!]. I still don’t understand the watering system which is a pity as it’s been pretty warm. Taking care also included harvesting …

Now I’m a huge fan of vegetables but: those are entirely too many zucchini and cucumbers [many are missing from the picture]. The tomatoes are fine with me but any takers for the green guys here?

Baked a batch of cookies for my mum while she was hosting friends. No, not a healthy kind of cookies but we all know balance is where it’s at. Getting stung by mosquitoes while baking wasn’t quite as fun but that’s just part of summer.

Practiced a lot of self-control when visiting Veganz, the German all-vegan supermarket chain, in Hamburg. Any guesses on how much money I spent on things for myself? None. While a brand new peanut butter and chocolate protein powder did tempt me I walked out only buying rice syrup for my sister and a bar of rice milk chocolate [Hazelnut Brittle] for my parents. Well, for my parents, you know …

Saw my colleague’s baby daughter for the first time. Granted, they only stopped by our house for a few minutes as the little girl got hungry soon but it was nice seeing her and the baby. Hopefully for a bit longer soon.

… and that’s about it for now. Especially as this has gotten way lengthier than planned. Ooops. Make me feel less vain by telling me abour your life!

Can you tell me if there’s a way to outsource writing intros for those days when you’re either not feeling it or can’t find the words? I’d appreciate that.

Honestly, though, with everything happening in the world right now it would feel odd to ramble on about my life yet following suit of what others are doing I still wanted to keep going. So it’s time to share some good good links again. And in case you need some super simple oatmeal cookies in your life …

Buttery without the butter, delightfully sweet without refined sugar: With only eight ingredients, one bowl and no butter, oil or refined sugar these Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are vegan, gluten-free, easy to prepare and make for a great snack or nutritious treat.

Where do I start with these healthy vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies? They’re small but mighty. Okay, not really. Yet they’re small but have quite the story to tell. Inspired by the oatmeal cookies my mum has been making, sharing with the whole family and raving about these had to happen. See, I’m all for my family eating oatmeal. And cookies. But if there’s an option to merge these in a healthier way I’m even more in for it. Needless to say my mum’s standard recipe does not fit this criteria or else I wouldn’t have dusted off my apron to get baking.*

*granted, I didn’t wear an apron but writing this post reminded me I really should the next time.

The verdict? My mum took one bite and said: “delicious, you can bake me a tin full of these”. Needless to say this made my day. Because you might imagine the rarity of a statement like that coming from her. Can we call that a huge success? Especially surprising as – and I’m going to commit a blogger crime saying this – I wasn’t overly impressed by the cookies myself. But I should add that a) I’m generally not a cookie person. Chocolate has my heart, or, rather: sweet tooth. And b) I still thought they were delicious, I’d just choose chocolate over any cookie any day so I’m not qualified to judge ;). My sister was a fan of the cookies, too, though, which should say it all: thumbs up for these.

I tried both a hazelnut and almond version of these – the first picture above shows the almond, the second one the hazelnut ones – and both were equally well received. The almonds blend in well with the other flavours while the hazelnuts add a litte extra flavour – which I personally thought was great – so you decide what you’re feeling like.

Crispy on the edges, soft in the middle with a delightfully hearty oat flavour spiked with hints of chocolate – they just deliver. They’re not your average dessert-like sweet cookies but their more nutritious but not less delicious cousins. Have your cookie and eat it [for breakfast], too!

Preheat oven to 350 °F/175 °C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, process the oatmeal into a fine flour. Add ground almonds, baking powder, salt and tapioca and give it a quick pulse to combine.

Melt the coconut oil.

Add the maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla if using to the dry ingredients in the blender and mix to combine. The dough should stick together well at this point. If the dough is too crumbly, add 1/2 tbsp of non-dairy milk at a time to reach the desired consistency. Transfer dough to a small mixing bowl.

Using your hands, mix in the remaining oats. You want the dough to be less sticky and rollable, not crumbly, so start with 1 tbsp of oatmeal.

Add the chocolate chips and stir through with a spoon or your hands.

Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet, using around 3/4 of a tablespoon of dough per cookie. Roll into a ball and flatten into cookie shape between your palms. No need for perfection here.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the sheet for around five minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes:
Using hazelnut meal I found 2 1/2 tbsps of maple syrup to be enough but adjust to get the right consistency.

Use sugar-free/stevia-sweetened chocolate for a completely refined-sugar-free option.

It’s official: technology definitely hates me. Proof #1: the commenting situation still persists [read; sorry for a lack of comments on your posts; they just don’t get through an apparently aren’t found in spam folders either – consider me very frustrated]. #2: the actual second post planned for this week, meant to go online on Thursday: didn’t happen thanks to – right, technology. #3: this post. Yes, you’re reading this so where’s the problem, you ask? The fact that I’d originally saved a half-finished post with many links a few days ago already and when I opened the draft tonight they were gone. Thanks for nothing, WordPress. Anyway, I remembered most of the posts and included them but for some others I’ll have to consult my brain once again and include them in the next Good good links.

This post! Like her, I never had a six-pack even at my worst and very miserable times plus I know plenty of seriously fit people who don’t have one. In short: there’s much more to life and a six pack says as much as your BMI [read: nothing].

Things that hinder writing a Week in Review in different ways:
1. Unfaithful internet that decides it’s time for a relationship time-out when it’s raining cats and dogs for a while.
2. Sleep being amiss. Ouch.

Okay so the most important lessons learned the past week: get sleep! Enough of it. Because I didn’t and it decreased my productivity by … many percent. I feel like I got zero, zilch, nada done because by the time I came home from work I was done myself. Still, I’ll make an attempt to find some accomplishments to join Meg’s listing party. Let’s see what I can come up with. …

In the past week I …

Worked the usual five days including some that felt never-ending. Fusing two businesses means a lot of behind-the-scenes work

Took up the role of food supplier in the office. Read: a fancy way of saying I made sure we were stocked up on chocolate at all times. Good chocolate. Some clients bring in candy that’s sub-par – not my subjective opinion but that of the majority – and I know I’d appreciate others providing snacks, too [not entirely altruistic maybe ;)]. I figure if I can’t convince my colleagues to dip apples in homemade peanut butter – I didn’t try yet but guess it’s not the best idea – I’ll buy everybody’s favourite treat.The champagne chocolate’s on me!

Skipped my pilates routine several days. This sounds odd if it’s your first time reading my blog but I explained why this is actually an accomplishment a while back. Still not easy mentally but I’m not exactly sitting on my butt all day, either, so that knowlegde helps slightly.

Cleaned my apartment. It doesn’t get any more fun but music helps make it endurable.

Started writing several posts. I know this isn’t the best habit but I find writing a post over the course of several days works better for me. I now have – unfortunately not finished yet – a more serious post, a lightheared one and the recipe for the last thing that came out of my kitchen to be written.

Published two blog posts and finished the second one earlier than usual. I’ve been trying to have my good good links ready earlier these past weeks. Because finishing them the night before publishing has interfered with getting enough sleep – see above – one too many times in previous month

Created a new recipe. Something that hasn’t happened in a looong time. Can we say current lack of kitchen mojo? I don’t like it. Whatever. More importantly, this new one isn’t any recipe but one for cookies. Remember what I said about me and baking? Yes. Heureka!

Turned off my laptop and read offline for a bit before bed most days. This was supposed to help my sleep but … see intro. Fingers crossed I’ll figure out a better way during my upcoming holidays.

Prepared more peanut butter. I still haven’t dared trying anything aside from this. If you own a Vitamix and have successfully made nut butters otherthan peanut in it: please let me know!

Prepared some food for the week. This, too, is something I hope to improve during my holidays as in: prep more ahead of time. Storage space is a huge hindrance here …

Because you know I always feel uneasy talking about myself only in these posts how about a little shoutout for my sister? As I mentioned before she’s trying to cut down her intake of refined sugar and testing more nutritious alternatives to sweets. These vegan rice krispie treats definitely deserve a pat on the back as finding the ingredient in Germany already is a feat in itself. Rice Krispies? Crispy brown rice cereal? Nowhere to be found. She did a great job substituting here.

Did the laundry. It was only half as bad as usual for some reason. Sunshine helps. Not just in drying clothes faster outside but getting me in the right mood.

Answered several emails I’d meant to reply to for quite a while. Does anybody else ‘write’ replies out in their head right after reading a mail and forget they didn’t actually? Me, all the time.

So yes, I really didn’t do much besides work which is the product of way too little restful sleep and needing the holidays to start urgently now. We’ve been counting down/talking about/preparing for them since ~eight weeks ago at the office and that made the wait feel all the longer. It’s still only been these past maybe two weeks that I realized – also thanks to some plans getting cancelled – that I don’t have any big plans for them. I’ll just see what happens and my current goals simply are to meet friends and rest up. Doesn’t sound half bad to me.

I’m typing this up in a hurry after the internet has been on/off for me all day so hopefully there aren’t too many typos. You know the rule: if you find one you can keep it ;). <- or is that not a saying in other parts of the world?

Tell me about your weeks and don’t forget to stop by Meg’s for more Week in Review shenanigans!